WWE: Where Have All The Factions Gone?

The Monday Night War breeds competition

It’s Monday night in 1997. You are glued to your TV, flipping between WWF Monday Night RAW and WCW Monday Nitro. And then, you hear it. That distinct guitar riff. And out they come – the n…W…o!!!!

For those of us who grew up during the Monday Night Wars, we all knew we were in store for some great television. The likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Sting, Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock graced our TV screens every Monday night. But there are two groups – two factions – that stick out in everyone’s mind. The New World Order and D-Generation X.

The New World Order was a dominant faction. At one point, they held all of the gold in WCW. Much like the Four Horsemen before them, who set the standard for factions, the nWo ran roughshod over WCW. When one member was attacked, all members joined in the stop it. They were the cool group in WCW and around the world. Everyone wanted to be a part of the nWo. In the WWF, there was D-Generation X.

The WWF has “Two Words” for WCW…

At first, it was Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna and Rick Rude (Yes, Rick Rude was in DX). After WrestleMania 14, the new DX was formed – Triple H, X-Pac, Chyna and the New Age Outlaws – Road Dogg Jesse James and Bad Ass Billy Gunn. DX did everything together, from winning championships to invading WCW Monday Nitro.

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These two factions were the dominant factions of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s until WWF bought WCW. A few years after the purchase, another dominate faction was born – Evolution. Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton and Batista captured all of the gold and destroyed everyone in their way. They were a great heel faction, like the days of the Horsemen.

Fast forward to today. In the WWE, the only real faction is The Shield, but we know this reunion will be short-lived. In New Japan and Ring of Honor, there is probably the most famous faction in the world – Bullet Club. With Bullet Club, you have the hungry wrestlers who want to dominate the world of professional wrestling, just like the nWo and DX before them. Besides Bullet Club, who else is there?

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How factions can save professional wrestling

This is what I find lacking in professional wrestling today, especially the WWE. There is not one single dominant faction that is owning the business like Bullet Club is doing in ROH & New Japan. There needs to be a new faction formed to take over WWE. A faction that runs wild all over RAW AND SmackDown Live.

The WWE should use one of their top stars, maybe Roman Reigns or AJ Styles, to form a new faction that owns the WWE. Hell, make it a group put together that battles Vince for total control of the company. And then, when Vince is in the ring with tears in his eyes that he lost his company, it is revealed that Hunter was behind this new faction and now, the WWE is HIS playground.

Factions have played an integral part in professional wrestling history. The wrestlers in those groups have been some of the best professional wrestlers this business has ever produced. Now would be a great time for the WWE to invest in a new faction to “shake things up a bit” in their universe and make it interesting again.